The scale of the garrison at the Sasebo base is so large that even if there are no combat operations, maintaining so many soldiers overseas will consume a considerable amount of military expenses every year.
Taking this into account, the Executive Committee was still controversial about whether to establish this base. However, Shi Diwen proposed that the Donghai Region should bear a certain proportion of the expenses, and the project was approved by the Executive Committee.
Since the Tokai Region has spent money, of course it must make the best use of it. Sasebo Bay is a natural deep-water harbor. In addition to being used as a military port, it is also an excellent environment as a trading port.
Shi Diwen originally advocated the establishment of a military base in Sasebo Bay, also considering that using this place to build a trading port could make up for military expenditures through tax revenue.
In order to support Sasebo Bay to realize its trade function as soon as possible, soon after the military base was built, the Tokai Region formulated new maritime trade rules. All goods transported by Haihan merchants from various ports in Hangzhou Bay to Japan must enter Sasebo Bay for unloading and delivery. .
The official statement is that this is done to facilitate the management of cross-border trade taxes and to ensure the safety of goods and transaction processes, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is to grab business from the Nagasaki Port in the Kyushu region.
The Tokugawa shogunate monopolized cross-border trade in the Kyushu region by controlling Nagasaki Port, and naturally made a lot of money. After the introduction of Haihan's new trade policy, Japanese businessmen had no choice but to flock to Sasebo Bay to complete transactions with Haihan in order to purchase Haihan goods.
Although this trade policy seems to be binding only on Haihan merchants, the comparison of maritime shipping capacity between the two countries shows that Japanese maritime merchants are less than one-tenth of their counterparts in Haihan. In addition, Haihan can deliver goods across borders through radio stations. demand information, which leads to a huge gap in freight costs and transportation efficiency.
The cost of Haihan products shipped back to China by Japanese merchants is often higher than that of similar products sold directly in Sasebo Bay. Self-transportation is not as economical as consignment.
Moreover, if Haihan consigns the goods, all transportation risks from the port of departure of the goods to Sasebo Bay will be borne by Haihan. You only need to bring money to pick up the goods, even if you include the taxes that need to be paid for transactions in Sasebo Bay. , it’s still more cost-effective than transporting the goods yourself.
After going back and forth, in the end, there were not many Japanese maritime merchants who transported goods by themselves. At most, the ships returned to Japan with some special cargo that was more valuable and needed to be escorted by themselves.
The trading location of Haihan goods in Japan gradually moved from Nagasaki Port to Sasebo Bay.
Although the Tokugawa shogunate was very dissatisfied with this and believed that Haihan's move was intended to suppress his own trade channels, apart from verbal protests, he could not come up with any substantive means of resistance.
But even the verbal protest did not last long. After all, the Tokugawa shogunate was reluctant to bear the huge benefits brought by transnational trade. It had no choice but to go to Sasebo Bay to pick up the goods in accordance with the new rules formulated by Haihan.
However, under this invisible confrontation, the trade situation between the two parties has indeed been negatively affected.
"The volume of trade completed in Sasebo Bay in the first half of this year dropped by 30% compared to last year. The products with the largest sales decline were matches, soap, lighters, glass tableware and other industrial products produced in the south."
"In terms of proportion, our transaction volume with the shogunate has dropped from 60% of local trade volume to less than 50%."
When trade director Yang Tianlei reported these figures to Shi Diwen, his face couldn't help but look a little uneasy. Although there are many objective reasons for the decline in trade volume, if his boss investigates him, he, the official in charge of trade, will definitely bear the corresponding responsibility. Shi Diwen asked expressionlessly: "Except for Kaifu, how is the local trade situation in Kyushu?"
Yang Tianlei quickly responded: "The volume of local trade in Kyushu has increased compared with last year, and the majority of Japanese businessmen who come to Sasebo Bay to open commercial institutions are now local in Kyushu. But the purchasing power they have shown is indeed not comparable to that of the shogunate. Comparable.”
The territory of each vassal in Kyushu is fragmented, the population is limited, and there are only a handful of truly powerful vassal states. Shi Diwen does not really expect to rely on local economic growth to fill the gap left by the shogunate.
But such an unfavorable situation made him more certain about his ideas. -
Since the purchasing power of the shogunate is already declining, some extraordinary measures must be taken to stimulate it.
Once a war breaks out, ordinary commodities can be put aside, but arms must be purchased. As the saying goes, when a cannon goes off, there is ten thousand taels of gold. When the time comes, the Tokugawa shogunate will not have to worry about spending their capital to purchase arms.
After briefly asking about the trade situation, Yuan Wendong then reported on the local civil affairs situation.
At present, in addition to the garrison troops in the base, Sasebo Bay also has more than 3,000 garrison family members, and more than 2,000 immigrants who have moved from the country in recent years.
If you include the Kyushu natives who voluntarily moved to Sasebo Bay to settle, the permanent population in the Kaihan area now exceeds 20,000. And this number has even exceeded the population of most of the vassal states in the Kyushu region.
"In the first half of this year, 207 new households settled in the Sasebo Bay area, of which 47 households moved from China, and the rest are locals. Last year, there were 700 scattered Japanese naturalized residents. There are currently 1,136 local people whose applications for naturalization are pending.”
While Yuan Wendong was reporting, he carefully observed Shi Diwen's face. Seeing that his face was slightly brighter, he relaxed a little.
The growth figures in terms of population are obviously much better than the situation in the field of trade. Although some daimyo are aware of the risk of population loss and have begun to restrict people from moving into Sasebo Bay, there will still be locals who come to settle here in various ways.
There were even some down-and-out warriors who took the initiative to come here to seek refuge with Haihan, hoping to exchange their lives for a better future.
After listening to the population data, Shi Diwen continued to ask noncommittally: "What is the situation in agriculture?"
Yuan Wendong responded: "In the first half of this year, 1,700 acres of farmland were newly reclaimed, 70% of which was for planting rice. The summer grain harvest has exceeded the base's annual consumption. There are currently more than 800,000 kilograms of grain in stock in the base. There is also fishery and animal husbandry locally. As long as there are no natural or man-made disasters, we will no longer need to transport food from the country.”
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "Only when the food supply is sufficient, local people will be willing to join us. However, the status of naturalized citizens cannot be given too easily. When you are approving naturalization, you should use more care and identification, and don't just blindly accept everyone." Take it in. Please note that in addition to local farmers, there will also be spies from the shogunate who want to come to our place to make a living.”